Study Abroad Belgium.
Higher
education is provided in both universities and non-university institutions,
mainly the Hautes Ecoles, which include long cycle and short cycle studies.
The Instituts supérieurs d'Architecture provide long cycles only. University
studies and long cycle studies are of the same level. Article 24 of
the Belgian Constitution lays down the principle of the freedom of teaching
and provides for the existence of state-organized teaching. Within this
constitutional framework, two networks of institutions of higher education
have developed extensively: public institutions set up by the state and
administered by the (linguistic) communities, or by the provincial or municipal
authorities, and private institutions of which the majority are denominational
(Roman Catholic). Private higher education is of considerable importance:
it takes place either in religious institutions or in civic institutions.
The community is responsible for official education. Private institutions
of higher education receive financial aid from the state, subject to certain
conditions.